Interestingly, the 2014 call by the APC leader and former Lagos State governor did not warrant operatives of the DSS invading his home and forcefully taking him away.
A call by the National Leader of the All Progressive Congress, Bola Tinubu, has resurfaced in the heat of the debate on the use of the word ‘revolution’.
Since activist and candidate in Nigeria’s 2019 Presidential election, Omoyele Sowore, founded the RevolutionNow movement, calling on citizens to march against bad governance in the country, there have been controversies in several quarters with many government apologists accusing him of trying to cause chaos.
However, it has now emerged that Tinubu on September 29, 2014, in a statement titled, 'A Return to Decency', also called for a revolution by the people.
Tinubu's comments were reported in several national newspapers at the time.
He had said, “The longer they rule, the less benefit the people derive. Nigeria now needs a ‘common sense revolution', a revolution that calls forth a return to decency, probity, transparency of process and fairness in outcome. [story_link align="left"]72244[/story_link]
“This is done not by subterfuge, divide and rule and turning Nigeria in a field of discord or a street of broken institutions.
“It is accomplished by honouring the principles of democratic good governance and economic justice.
“It is done by persuading the people they are better off as one instead of better off tearing at one another’s throats. Nigerians should be prepared for change.
“We must rescue Nigeria from those set to cause it irreparable harm. The change I talk about is the only route to our deliverance from 16 years of the PDP locusts.”
Interestingly, the 2014 call by the APC leader and former Lagos State governor did not warrant operatives of the DSS invading his home and forcefully taking him away.
Also, the government of Goodluck Jonathan did not also consider his action as treason.
Apart from Tinubu, other prominent Nigerians had also called for a revolution in the past.
For example, on November 30, 2018, candidate of the Young Progressives Party in the 2019 Presidential election, Kingsley Moghalu, called for a revolution during an interview with The Guardian.
He called for young people to "rise up for a revolution in 2019".
Respected preacher and running mate to President Muhammadu Buhari during the 2011 Presidential election, Tunde Bakare, and on April 3, 2016, called for a revolution to correct the current "leakages in government".
In a report by The Punch, Bakare had said: “While appreciating the positive developments in our democratic experience, especially the attempts by past and current governments to eliminate systemic leakages, I shall seek to prove that, by a fair preponderance of the credible evidence, the state of the nation calls for a revolution.
“This is a revolution that transcends politics or policies; a revolution that means far more than any change of government; a revolution that means a radical reformation of values as they impact upon the social, economic and political landscapes of our nation.”